Ladder climbing shoes

ABSTRACT

A shoe having an upper component and an outersole including a heel portion and a ball portion. The heel portion and the ball portion include a recess configured to receive a ladder rung therein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/799,978, filed Mar. 15, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the field of climbing shoes and, in particular, ladder climbing shoes that can be used to climb a caving ladder.

BACKGROUND

A myriad of shoes exist for all kinds of uses and to address different use conditions and problems. The shoe disclosed herein, however, addresses a very specific problem. Climbing wet ladders or ladders to board a vessel at sea, i.e., a caving ladder, can be problematic because of the tendency for one's feet to slip off the rungs.

Embodiments of the present invention disclosed and described herein are directed to a addressing and solving this problem by providing a new type of shoe with a specially designed bottom or outersole that corresponds to the shape of a ladder rung.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a shoe comprising an upper component and an outersole having a heel portion and a ball portion. The heel portion and the ball portion each include a recess configured to receive a ladder rung therein. In some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the recess corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the ladder rung

The various features of novelty that characterize the embodiments of the present invention are pointed out in particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shoe, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of a shoe, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a caving ladder;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a caving ladder rung;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken about line A-A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a shoe, according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of a shoe, according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The various embodiments of the invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Elements that are identified using the same or similar reference characters refer to the same or similar elements. Features disclosed as belonging to certain embodiments can be used with other embodiments of the invention disclosed herein.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions, or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only. Thus, the terminology is intended to be broadly construed and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosed invention. For example, as used in the specification including the appended numbered paragraphs, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “one” include the plural, the term “or” means “and/or,” and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, any methods described herein are not intended to be limited to the sequence of steps described but can be carried out in other sequences, unless expressly stated otherwise herein. And any dimensions shown in the attached drawings are representative and not limiting of the invention, as larger or smaller dimensions can be used as desired.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. Thus, a first element could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of the embodiments of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

As depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, ladders, such as, for example, caving ladders 2, include a plurality of rungs 4. The rungs 4 are suspended from a non-rigid material 5 such as rope, chain, etc., making them even more difficult to climb in rough conditions. Typically, the rungs 4 have a circular or oval cross-sectional shape. Caving ladders are typically used in caving to descend or ascend in caves or for military purposes, for example, for use with a helicopter to extract military personnel from water or for use by military personnel when boarding a ship at sea. To climb a caving ladder 2, a person alternates placing the heel and ball of the feet onto each rung 4.

To address the problem of feet slipping off the rungs 4, which typically occurs when used in wet conditions, disclosed herein is a shoe 6 that includes an upper component 8 and an outersole 10. The outer sole 10 includes a heel portion 12 and a ball portion 14, which correspond to the heel and ball of the human foot. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outersole of both the heel portion 12 and ball portion 14 includes an indentation or recessed portion 16 whose shape corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the ladder rung 4 as depicted in FIG. 5. In other words, the cross-sectional shape of the recessed portion 16 corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the ladder rung 4. The indentation 16 should be slightly larger than the cross-sectional shape of the rung 4 so that when a person is climbing the ladder, the rung 4 is received within the indentation 16, which prevents the shoe 6 from slipping off the rung 4 making it easier and quicker for a person to climb the caving ladder. It should be noted that the indentation 16 should be large enough to receive the rung 4 but it cannot be too large so that it interferes with a person's normal walking/running activities. Also, the indentation 16 can be of any shape as long as it corresponds to or can receive a rung 4 therein. As depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7, other shapes for the indentation include, but are not limited to, round, oval, triangular, square, etc.

The outersole 10 can also have a thickness greater than an overall height of the recessed portion of the heel portion and the ball portion. The recessed portion of the ball portion 14 is preferably positioned so as to be substantially aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) with a ball of a foot position within the shoe. The recessed portion of the heel portion 12 is preferably positioned so as to be substantially aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) with a heel of a foot positioned within the shoe. The recessed portions 16 are also sized to receive a ladder rung 4 and to be significantly larger than typical treads of a shoe outersole.

Embodiments of the present invention can be made from the same materials used to make typical shoes for this purpose. Non-limiting examples of materials that can be used for the heel portion 12 and the ball portion 14 include polymers e.g., plastics, elastomers, rubbers, polyurethane, latex, etc.

In some embodiments, the indentation or recessed portion 16 can be molded directly into the heel portion 12 and the ball portion 14. Therefore, additional manufacturing steps may not be necessary as the indentation or recessed portion 16 can be molded directly into the heel portion 12 and the ball portion 14 at the same time that the tread is molded.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended numbered paragraphs should be construed broadly to include other variants and embodiments of the invention which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention. 

I claim:
 1. A shoe comprising: an upper component; and an outersole having a heel portion and a ball portion, wherein the heel portion and the ball portion include a recess configured to receive a ladder rung therein.
 2. The shoe of claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the recess corresponds to a cross-sectional shape of the ladder rung.
 3. The shoe of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the recessed portion is round.
 4. The shoe of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the recessed portion is oval.
 5. The shoe of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the recessed portion is triangular.
 6. The shoe of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the recessed portion is square.
 7. The shoe of claim 1, wherein the outersole is made of a material selected from the group consisting of rubber, polyurethane and latex. 